It has been a busy day!

I awoke at 5:30 a.m., however, quickly climbed back into bed and off to sleep once again until about 6:30 a.m. That is when the alarm went off, as Don would be driving my dad to and from the hospital for a minor surgery today. Anyways, a while back my dad went to the ER with something irritating his eye. Upon administering an eye wash and prescribing him an antibiotic drops to apply to prevent any possibility of infection, he was referred over to Dr. Burton, an eye specialist. Dad had an appointment with him several weeks ago, and during that visit discovered he is developing cataracts and Dr. Burton decided to remove them before they became worse. So, today was the first surgery to remove one on one eye and the second will be done at a later date. Dad went through the out-patient surgery well... came home this afternoon with a minimal amount of pain after the procedure. He returns tomorrow for a follow-up post-op visit where he will discuss the condition with Dr. Burton and I assume preparations for his follow up care and upcoming surgery.

Unable to go along because the only vehicle we have running is the Ford Ranger and it is a standard and small to say the least, I stayed at home and kept myself occupied. I've started on my fall cleaning; just a bit here and there, mainly in our kitchen since I am desiring to get in there soon and tackle painting the remaining part of it. Made a wonderful breakfast of bacon, fried potatoes, and eggs, cleaned up the dishes afterwards and swept and mopped the floors.

While I worked, I kept thinking about the decorating that I am desiring to do around here. After the kitchen is finished being painted red, I'd like to explore my options for new curtains. I have yet to make it to Calico Corners where I seen the wonderful fabrics online that I loved. I'm thinking I'd rather sew them or have them sewn vs. purchasing them. One of the reason is I'd love to co-ordinate them with some placemats and seat cushions. I also thought that I could use some scraps on some dishtowels and just a little country charm here and there. This sort of surprised me, the country theme --- I've always liked the look but not the clutter. Now, I'm not talking total country... just an eclectic mix with a bit of country! I am intending to keep my rooster theme...... I'd just like to add a few things. Maybe a braided rug under the table, a few woven rugs, on in front of the sink and another at the back door... just to assist creating that warm, cozy, nostalgic look. So I did an internet search for some, I did find some at http://www.countrystylehome.com in a barn red; nice but not quite what I'm wanting. Isn't it strange how that works, you get this picture in your mind and cannot get it out. You know what you want, yet cannot find it. Well, I know in time I will; I just have to have some patience. But I did manage to find a few items that I am desiring. From www.tenderhearttreasures.com I found the perfect set of mixing bowls! The item # is 107687 Autumn Riches Mixing Bowls and are $34.95 for a set of 4. I will definately will be ordering these soon! I absolutely adore the colors, the functionality of them, and the style. I, also, found a few other items that I thought I'd put on my Christmas list:

• #104126 Curved Rattan Basket; priced at $5.95
• 107853 5" Rustic Primitive Star Ornaments; priced at $7.95
• 104758 Estate Green Bird Hook; 3 pc. set; priced at $12.95

And this, I love! I have desired one for a few years now ever since I first laid eyes on it! It is #109826 and called Swan Embrace. It is a wood carving of two swans. I've seen this before and remember the story behind them. The first time I seen them, I remember them being called Soul Mates, and the story is about how swans mate for life and the one broke its neck on the ice and the other swan stayed with it and mourned. I know it's sad, but so touching! This is the most reasonable price that I have found this piece for at $49.95; the Soul Mates one was well over a $100.00!

I also got to thinking {because of the painting in the kitchen} about the can of yellow paint that I purchased when I purchased the kitchen paint. I belive I have finally came to a suitable answer for using it within the living room! I know I've talked about this room before and how it is my biggest decorating challenge and I've decided to treat it as two separate spaces. Well, today, while resting on the couch, I got to looking at the way the light was hitting my gold sheer curtains, and it simply dawned on me! Instead of sponging, glazing, faux-finishing, what about painting only the bottom half of the wall! Sort of like a chair rail style. Well, trust me, it wasn't long after that thought that I was looking at the two walls that are painted and realized that it wouldn't take much in wood trim to add one to them. The west wall has the large picture window and the south wall has the front door with a window on each opposite side of it. Without even measuring, I'm thinking 11 1/2' wide x 30' long, minusing the width of the windows and door, I could get by with purchasing about 4-8' sections of trim! Not too shabby! A low finance project with big impact! Right up my alley....